Headwear with integrated retention apparatus

ABSTRACT

A headwear with integrated retention apparatus includes a fabric body having a generally pentagonal shape and a plurality of securing units attached thereto. The main body act to cover a portion of a users head, and the plurality of securing units act to removably secure the main body to the head of the user.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to headwear, and morespecifically to headwear having an integrated system for securing to thehead and hair of a user.

Headwear such as bandanas, hair scarf's, headbands and berets, forexample, have been known for many years. Depending on the culture andfashion interests of the user, these items can be matched with outfitsranging from business attire to sportswear. Although not absolute, formany users, headwear is most commonly worn in outdoor environments toprotect against elements such as sun, snow, wind and rain. To this end,it is common for a user to remove and then reattach the headwear whenentering and leaving a building.

Traditionally, headwear such as that described above is secured to thehead of a user by attempting to tie a portion of the material around thehead tight enough to prevent it from falling off. Accordingly, theusefulness of headwear often depends on the ability of the user tosecure the device to their head. Additionally, this tying action oftenresults in the users hair becoming disturbed, which can defeat theoriginal purpose of wearing the headwear in the first place.

Moreover, in some instances, headwear is used by individuals who arelosing their hair due to heredity or a disease such as cancer. In theseinstances, it can be difficult for a sick individual to adequatelysecure traditional headwear to their head in a weakened state.

In light of the above, it would be beneficial to provide headwear thatincorporates a retention unit for easily affixing and removing theheadwear to a user without the deficiencies described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a headwear article. One embodimentof the present invention can include a fabric body having a generallypentagonal shape and a plurality of securing units attached thereto. Themain body can act to cover a portion of a users head, and the pluralityof securing units are configured to removably secure the main body tothe head of the user.

In another embodiment, the headwear article can further include one ormore connection units configured to secure the edges of the main bodytogether in order to further protect the head of a user against outsideelements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Presently preferred embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should beappreciated, however, that the invention is not limited to the precisearrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is a top view of headwear with an integrated retention apparatusthat is useful for understanding the inventive concepts disclosedherein.

FIG. 1 a is a blow up view of a securing unit for use with the headwearwith an integrated retention apparatus, according to one embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the headwear with an integrated retentionapparatus in use, according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view of headwear with an integrated retention apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the specification concludes with claims defining the features ofthe invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that theinvention will be better understood from a consideration of thedescription in conjunction with the drawings. As required, detailedembodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, itis to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplaryof the invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore,specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not tobe interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and asa representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variouslyemploy the inventive arrangements in virtually any appropriatelydetailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are notintended to be limiting but rather to provide an understandabledescription of the invention.

Although illustrated below with reference to a head scarf and/orbandana, one of skill in the art will recognize that the inventiveconcepts described herein can be equally applied to virtually any formof headwear, such as hats, berets and burka's, for example, withoutdeviating from the scope and spirit of the inventive concepts disclosedherein.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate one embodiment of headwear with an integratedretention apparatus 10 that is useful for understanding the inventiveconcepts disclosed herein. As shown, headwear 10 can include a main body11 preferably in the form of ahead scarf, having one or more attachmentclips 12 secured thereon.

The main body 11 can act to cover a portion of the hair and/or face of auser. To this end, the main body can serve to provide protection againstthe elements, or can be utilized as a fashion accessory. As such, themain body 11 can include any number of markings, designs and colors forallowing the wearer to display a unique and personalized look. Asdescribed herein, the main body 11 can be constructed from virtually anytype of fabric or cloth material such as, for example, cotton, linen,wool, fleece and/or polyester, among many others.

In one preferred embodiment, the main body 11 can include a generallypentagonal shape having a front edge A, two opposing side edges B and C,and a bottom edge D.

The attachment clips 12 can act to securely position the main body 11 tothe hair 21 of a user 20. FIG. 1 a illustrates one preferred embodimentof an attachment clip 12 that includes an outer U shaped frame 12 ahaving a plurality of comb-like spaced apart teeth 12 b extendingdownward from a middle portion thereof, and a flexible retention member12 c secured to each of the two outside ends of the frame. As shown,when in an open position there is a gap between the teeth 12 b and theretention member 12 c. Conversely, when in a closed position, theretention member 12 c is engaged with each of the teeth 12 b.

In one embodiment, the attachment clip 12 can move from an open to aclosed position when pressure is applied to the retention member 12 c.At this time, the shape of the retention member can bend inward and makecontact with each of the teeth 12 b. As such, the clip can be applied tothe hair of a user in an open position, and when a piece of hair orother material is interposed between the teeth 12 b and the retentionmember 12 c, the clip can be closed in order to quickly and easilyattach the clip 12 to a user in a removable fashion.

In one preferred embodiment, the back portion of the attachment clipframe 12 a can be permanently affixed to the main body 11 via glue orother adhesive material such that the teeth 12 b and the retentionmember 12 c are free to interact with the hair of a user 20. In onepreferred embodiment, the attachment clips can be positioned along thefront edge A of the main body 11, however other locations are alsocontemplated.

Although described above as including a particular type of attachmentclip, one of skill in the art will recognize that virtually any meansfor removably securing headwear to the head and/or hair of a user suchas, for example, commonly known hair clips, bobby pins, and the like canbe utilized without deviating from the scope and spirit of the inventiveconcepts disclosed herein.

In operation, and as shown in FIG. 2, when the main body 11 is placedover the wearer's head 20, each of the attachment clips 12 can clip tothe hair 21 of the user so as to hold the headwear 10 in place.

Additionally, each of the side and bottom edges B, C and D can alsoinclude attachment clips 12 in order to allow the main body 11 to besecurely positioned to the hair of a user in virtually anyconfiguration.

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the headwear 10 thatfurther includes a plurality of connectors 30 and friction pads 35 forallowing increased functionality of the device 10.

As described herein, connectors 30 can include virtually any knowndevice having two halves capable of being removably secured together.Common examples typically include hook and loop fasteners (i.e.Velcro®), magnetic elements or compression fittings such as snaps orbuttons, for example.

In the present embodiment, connectors 30 can be secured to the main body11 at or near the edges B, C and D, in order to join each of these edgestogether when the front edge A of the main body 11 is secured to thehair of a user via the attachment clips 12, as described above.Accordingly, connectors 30 placed along the edges of the main body 11can replace the need for a user to tie the rear and side edges (B, C,and D) of the headwear together when wearing the device.

Friction pads 35 can act to allow the headwear 10 to adhere to the skin20 of a user to provide additional security against an inadvertentremoval. In one preferred embodiment, friction pads 35 can beconstructed from thin strips of rubberized material having a highcoefficient of friction when in contact with human skin; however, othermaterials such as adhesive tape, for example are also contemplated. Inone preferred embodiment, friction pads 35 can be placed along the edgeof the front portion of the main body A in order to make contact withthe forehead of the wearer.

Although illustrated as being used in conjunction with the attachmentclips 12, the friction pads 35 can be incorporated into the headwear 10as a replacement to the attachment clips in order to allow persons withlittle or no hair to benefit from the inventive concepts of theinvention.

As described herein, one or more elements of the headwear 10 such as theattachment clips 12, the connectors 30 and/or the friction pads 35 canbe secured to the main body 11 utilizing any number of known attachmentmeans such as, for example, screws, glue, hook and latch (i.e. VELCRO)and/or general compression fittings, among other known methods.

Accordingly, headwear with integrated attachment apparatus 10 asdescribed above can be utilized in a quick and easy manner.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

1. A headwear article, comprising: a fabric body having an upper edge,two opposing side edges and a bottom edge, said fabric body comprising agenerally pentagonal shape; and one or more securing units affixed to atleast one of the upper, bottom and side edges of the fabric body,wherein said fabric body is configured to cover a portion of a usershead, and the one or more securing units are configured to be removablyattached to a portion of a users hair.
 2. The headwear article of claim1, wherein said securing unit includes a main body having a plurality ofcomb elements and a flexible member, said flexible member beingconfigured to impart a pressure on each of said comb elements.
 3. Theheadwear article of claim 1, wherein said securing unit includes acommon hair clip.
 4. The headwear article of claim 1, wherein one ormore securing units are affixed to each of said upper, side and bottomedges of the fabric body.
 5. The headwear article of claim 1, furthercomprising: one or more friction units configured to secure the upperedge of the fabric body to the skin of the users head.
 6. The headweararticle of claim 5, wherein said friction unit includes at least one ofa rubberized element having a high coefficient of friction, and anadhesive tape material.
 7. The headwear article of claim 1, furthercomprising: one or more connection units disposed on each of said bottomand side edges of the fabric body, said connection units beingconfigured to removably attach together along a back portion of theusers head.
 8. The headwear article of claim 7, wherein said connectionunit includes at least one of a magnetic element, hook and latchmaterial, and a compression fitting.
 9. A headwear article, comprising:a fabric body having an upper edge, two opposing side edges and a bottomedge, said fabric body comprising a generally pentagonal shape; and oneor more friction units affixed to at least one of the upper, bottom andside edges of the fabric body, wherein said fabric body is configured tocover a portion of a users head, and the one or more friction units areconfigured to secure the upper edge of the fabric body to the skin ofthe users head.
 10. The headwear article of claim 9, wherein one or morefriction units are affixed to each of said upper, side and bottom edgesof the fabric body.
 11. The headwear article of claim 10, wherein saidfriction unit includes at least one of a rubberized element having ahigh coefficient of friction, and an adhesive tape material.
 12. Theheadwear article of claim 9, further comprising: one or more connectionunits disposed on each of said bottom and side edges of the fabric body,said connection units being configured to removably attach togetheralong a back portion of the users head.
 13. The headwear article ofclaim 12, wherein said connection unit includes at least one of amagnetic element, hook and latch material, and a compression fitting.14. A headwear article, comprising: a fabric body having an upper edge,two opposing side edges and a bottom edge, said fabric body comprising agenerally pentagonal shape; one or more securing units affixed to atleast one of the upper, bottom and side edges of the fabric body; andone or more friction units affixed to at least one of the upper, bottomand side edges of the fabric body, wherein said fabric body isconfigured to cover a portion of a users head, the one or more frictionunits are configured to secure the upper edge of the fabric body to theskin of the users head, and the one or more securing units areconfigured to be removably attached to a portion of a users hair.